The Jokes of the Spider
by TheKingOfJokes
Summary: Arthur Fleck was arrested in the 80s for inciting revolt against the rich and being the first murderous Joker. Batman grew up to fight crime to save people from his own fate, but a major copycat never rose up, until now. And he's about ten years younger and crazier than the Batman or Arthur. What happens if Peter Parker was the child who would be destined to be, The Joker? Spoilers


**my second gotham/dc story involving(peter parker) a crazy, broken, hurt peter this time! will involve spoilers from Joker (2019) read at your own discretion.**

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A young man slowly opened his eyes and began to feel terrifying amounts of panic. "Jerry, Simon!?" The tan skinned guy called out as he attempted to move, and gasped finding himself tied extremely tight in a wooden chair. He was tied up in a small dim room, with the only other thing in the room was a small light bulb above him which glowed eerily.

"Wood... I think I'm in a shed." The dark haired man quietly muttered as he attempted to kick at the door in front of him, as he began to plead to anyone or anything for help. "Help me! Help! I'm trapped! Hel..!" he began to shout but stopped his screams when the door violently opened, to reveal an individual under a clown mask with a sack in his left hand.

"Silly, you'll wake up the neighbors." The masked clown chided, sounding like a little kid in a candy store as he shut the wooden door and locked it, quickly dropping the sack beside him. The scared young adult frowned, and quickly spoke up, terror present in his voice. "What are you gonna do to me? Who the fuck are you?!"

The lean masked individual who wore dark black clothing began to cackle as he slowly took off the mask, revealing his face painted a pure white, two red spider's painted around his eyes, as a large red smile was formed up to his upper cheeks in a Glasgow smile. "You don't recognize me, Carson?" Carson's eyes were wider, his forehead scrunching in panic as he nodded his head, "You're that Parker kid, what the fuck are you doing, nerd? Let me go or I'll kick your ass Peter!"

Peter began to chuckle crazily, for over a good minute as he laid himself against the wooden wall in front of the tied up man. "Ahahahahaha!" He laughed out, seemingly amused. But in his blue eyes, there could only be pain and hatred recognized. Peter eventually was able to control his crazy chuckles as he stood closer to the tied up bully of his, "No no no, my dear boy. You see, I have great plans for you! I have great plans for this city."

Carson growled, but he was slightly curious. "Like what?" The Jock asked the young clown, Peter grinned happy to oblige him. "You see, I'm eighteen now. My birthday was a few weeks ago. On my birthday, my aunt... died."

Peter continued to speak as he pulled out a sharp butcher knife from the sack. The knife wielding clown began to laugh wickedly, now reveling in his laughter. With each pained and angry laugh, the clown's school bully grew more dread, "Fuck man, you need help Parker."

The clown laughed, as he began to slowly cut his finger, blood slowly leaking out. "Nono hahhahaha! You see Carson, my light... My aunt.. She was the only good thing in life. She believed in me, when no one else would. My Uncle, and parents died when I was little. I say, she shouldn't have died. But she was taken away, by a hunk like you. A criminal who was good at running killed her, and I couldn't keep up."

Carson scoffed, "No, she shouldn't have. You should have died Parker, why the fuck are you doing this?!" Peter chuckled in a more victorious manner as he began to draw a bloody smile on Carson's face, "hehehehahahahah! Let's put a smile on your face! Aunt May always told me I'd put a smile on peoples faces... She thought I'd bring comedy and joy to Gotham City. Well, they won't be laughing now, you aren't laughing now hahahaha!"

The Jock began to wriggle at Peter's blood now on his face, "Please man, don't do this, let me go!" Peter shook his head, an angry glare suddenly marring his face with no sudden laughter in sight. "All of those times you bullied me in middle school, and when your buddies kicked the shit out of me last week and... and you did perverted things to me, I realized my potential. At first I thought I didn't even exist.. I had trouble seeing it, but now I exist. But you wont for very long! Hahahaahaha!"

As the young adult in makeup swung the large butcher blade, he began to giddily chuckle as Carson screamed in pain for half a second, before blood poured out of his neck and his now decapitated head fell to the ground. "ahahahahhEHeheheheHEHhahahahah!" Peter chuckled as the lean clown began to chop up the corpse in front of himself with a dark chuckle at every stab, "Three down, one bitch to humiliate."

Several minutes later, the dark dressed clown walked out of the shed with a much fuller and red coated sack as he hightailed it towards a nearby dumpster. He chuckled uncontrollably as he tossed the sack in and started to walk down the street, searching for his last victims house.

Oswald Cobblepot was having a rather messed up night, as the shorter gentleman sighed and lit an expensive cigar in his mouth. Several strong looking henchman walked up to the older rich criminal mastermind in his hideaway factory, "Boss, Batman broke through our first defense. He took down Jackson despite being injected with the Titan formula."

The Penguin's eyes widened as he shook his head and slowly stepped back, "No, No! You're telling me the Bat was able to take down a Titan injected monster? Aye that's impossible even for im'!"

Oswald felt a chill on his neck, as the shorter man heard a swoop with his henchman all gasping as they stared at something behind the Penguin. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Cobblepot." Came the baritone, modified voice of the Batman. Oswald gasped as he quickly turned around and raised his umbrella as if he was about to attack, only for the Batman to right hook him square in the face and fire an electric charge at the older villain.

Cobblepot went soaring across the room and landed onto the ground on the opposite side of the factory in a grunt of pain. He quickly recovered and shouted to his boys, "Finish him! Kill the Bat freak!" The three henchman standing nearby all began to fire their smg's at the Bat themed hero, as the Dark Knight ducked himself behind a steel beam.

"Alfred, summon the bat drone." Batman requested as he tapped his index finger on his bat cowl's Bluetooth piece. "At once sir." his butler replied over his earpiece, as batman's small bat shaped drone slowly flew inside of the rustic factory hideout. Batman quickly tapped on his left gauntlet, an electronic holographic screen appearing as he began to pilot the drone. He braced slightly as a bullet flew right past him, the dark knight sighed knowing he had to take them out fast

He steered the drone and pressed a red button, the drone firing off two small rockets. When the rocket's landed, the three henchman were thrown about and were seriously injured. Batman gave control of the drone back to Alfred in the bat cave as he sighed, "That should keep them from using guns again."

Batman walked towards Penguin slowly with his normal terrifying appearance casting a bit of fear into Cobblepot as the older man growled seeing he was kind of screwed without a plan at the moment. "Why are you bothering attacking Batman? I've done nothing to warrant your attention!"

Batman slightly frowned, his eyes narrowing. "You created a monster using the Titan formula, tried to have a politician assassinated in Metropolis, and there has been two murders of young men just out of high school. They were found chopped up. That's the calling card of you, or Falcone. So both of you are going to be questioned."

Penguin comically raised his stubby hands up and nodded, "Aye, aye. You got me on the politician and the Titan formula." Penguin took the cigar which had burned out and lit it in his mouth once more as he seemed to be surrendering, "But what's this about killing kids? I don't have time to be blamed for something I didn't do, Bat."

Batman nodded quietly, but suddenly pushed Oswald against a wall, the man terrified as Batman's eyes narrowed further. "If you are lying to me, I'll visit you in your jail cell for some... Quality time." Penguin slowly nodded as he continued to smoke and slightly grinned.

"Aye." Penguin replied as he blew a puff of smoke into Batman's face, "Take me to Arkham, I'll get out again hahaha." Batman ignored the man as he knocked the criminal out with an electric shock disc. "Alfred." Bruce said as he tapped his cowl, "Give the GCPD these coordinates to obtain the Penguin. I'm going to keep searching for clues to the recent west side murders. I promised Gordon as Batman that I'd find out what happened."

"Absolutely sir," Alfred replied as he reminded Batman, "Just a reminder, you have a meeting with President Trump in three days, so I'd try to get this case solved quickly before you have to leave Gotham for a few days. The president has tweeted his intentions to use Wayne Tech software to run the U.S. CIA network."

Batman had summoned the bat mobile a minute earlier, the vigilante grappling himself to the roof as he glided down to his quick armored car. As he sat into the car, he started the autopilot as he signed onto his laptop inside of the bat themed vehicle. "I see, well that's good for business I suppose." Batman said with a slight scoff, looking it up and seeing the exact tweet the president had left concerning Wayne Tech software, the bat mobile roaring off into the city; Bruce Wayne's night as the Batman just beginning.

"Five, Three, lots of kills!~ Four, Two, burn the store!~ One, Six, Gonna slice this chick!~" Peter sang to himself loudly in a sing song voice as he walked through a dark alley. It had been several hours since his last murder of revenge, and the giddy youthful guy was having a wonderful time. "I look sooooo... mmm sexy!" The crazy clown cheerfully said as he danced through the dark alley, now dressed in dark black boots, he wore an interesting colorful pinstripe design of red and black stripes on his baggy jeans.

He wore a blue vest shirt over a white undershirt, the young man loving the new spider themed tie he had stolen and now sported it proudly. He wore a red trench coat, with black leather gloves covering his hands. His long green hair parted over to the left side of his face, as he made sure to keep his hair out of his eyes and to show off his brilliant clown makeup.

The broken young man continued to sing happily about murder, as he skipped down the alley and grinned as he found the apartment building he was looking for in downtown Gotham. "Ahhhh this is where you live my dear. That little piggy squealed your address before I attached his skull to a mailbox, hehehehahaha!"

The young man dressed similar of an older man during the eighties who inspired his way of dressing began to climb up the fire escape on the side of the building. He grinned as he looked through each window and his eyebrows raised as he began to watch an older woman through a window masturbating not realizing her curtains were open as he began to chuckle giddily and quietly muttered, "Woof, I think I'll return to this apartment for some fun afterwards."

The cracked clown found the apartment, he stood outside on the fire escape of the young woman's bedroom window, his dull blue eyes filled with pain and hatred staring into the young woman's back, as he began to try and fight back his automatic cackles, "hahehehe..." He began to have a coughing fit as he couldn't truly hold back his laughs, his psyche far too damaged.

He quickly crouched to the side of the window, hoping to not be seen as the woman he had his eyes on quickly turned around from her computer and desk as she stared outside into the dark city lights curiously. "That's weird.. That sounded like it was just outside.." The eighteen year old girl said sounding confused as she slowly opened the window and looked outside curious, "I guess no one's ou-...!"

The woman began to choke and rasp for air, as she found herself within half a second in the choke hold of a.. "Clo...Clown..?" she whispered out in pain as the clown chuckled loudly, "Hello, Hope." Hope tried to wriggle free but her eyes widened finally recognizing who was holding her roughly.

"Pe..Peter?" She rasped out as he began to cackle in joy, "Why yesssss my dear!~ How kind of you to remember little ole' me!~" He threw hope roughly onto her bed as he locked her bedroom door, but ignored her open window as Hope's terrified blue eyes stared up at the crazy teen gone clown, "Why are you here?! Please... go away!"

"Everyone want's me gone!" Peter shouted, as he pulled the woman up by her long blonde hair and threw her onto her bedroom floor in anger. "Please Peter... no.. It's not true! I don't want you gone!" Hope pleaded out weakly, this only angering the broken young adult as the clown began to roughly kick her face and even stomped on her decent sized chest, causing even more pain to her muscles and mounds. After half a minute of torture he stopped and was breathing heavily from giving his all into his kicks, an evil lifeless grin on his face as he continued to cackle at her agony.

Hope was in loud tears as her sobbing was only getting more and more desperate. The abused and bloody woman looked up at the clown who was a nerd she used to ignore and use in high school. "You... Became.. crazy.." She quietly muttered past her sobbing as the guy quickly looked away, almost as if some part of him was arguing with himself, as he began to cackle and speak to her, "No.. no.. no.. You're a bitch! You weren't the worst! NO where near the other boys.. but their dead, and you're left... I'll teach you what it means to smile."

He crouched beside her and grinned with a surprising gentle whisper in her ear, "You were the kindest to me... Hope. Tell me, are you feeling any hope currently?" Hope fearfully looked up at the man as the clown began to regale her with a tale of his life story, and the impact she had in his feelings. Of course, with him being absolutely cracked and his humanity almost extinguished, the woman saw it as him spewing maniacal nonsense, but she got the underlying message as he spoke. She was responsible for this, for him admitting to her that he murdered her high school Jock friends, and that she was next all because they tortured him growing up.

Batman was now driving the bat mobile, as the Dark Knight cruised down an empty Gotham street at night, attempting to not make himself known but to also keep a lookout for shady activity. He would have continued the investigation on the recent teen murders that Gordon was worried about, but he didn't know where to start surprisingly.

Bruce sighed under his cowl and mumbled to himself in frustration, "The trail often doesn't disappear after a gruesome scene like those two separate but connected murders, but I know they'll eventually show themselves again, but it may be too late next time."

"Master Bruce, you need to go to the brown apartment at 1042 Kensington Way, Central Gotham." Came the voice of Alfred over his Bluetooth as the butler continued, "And hurry, so far the caller was alive but two are dead and the GCPD stated on their radio they are a known friend of the two men murdered."

Batman's eyes narrowed as he nodded and tapped his cowl ear, "On it Al." With a roar of the Bat mobile's engines, the midnight black car raced down the street towards the heavily populated area of Central Gotham, and the apartment complex soon came into distance of the Dark Knight who quickly jumped out of his speeding vehicle which switched into auto pilot mode as it drove to hide in a nearby alley.

Batman began to walk up to the steps of the apartment and slowly entered the dimly lit apartment hallways. Often in situations, he would enter in through a different way, with his grapple gun bringing him to the roof, or by being crafty. But the Batman figured he'd enter through the entrance of the apartment to not seem like a thief or to be there to make it worse.

Bruce found the correct apartment door and slowly held his gloved hand on the door, the Batman quickly pulling the knob and opening the door gently. As soon as Batman entered the apartment, he saw a recently cooked pizza on the kitchen's counter that was beside the door and hallway of the small apartment.

The vigilante walked further in and frowned as he quietly muttered out and walked through the hallways, "Seems I'm here before the police." The Batman walked in the hall and stopped quickly when he heard a noise coming from one of the bedrooms, the sound of a female sobbing in agony.

Bruce gently went to the bedroom door which was shut as he gently opened it, and the sight he saw when he walked in made his heart sink. "My.." He quietly muttered but quickly stopped in his own form of terror at seeing who was sobbing. A young woman, probably only seventeen or eighteen was sobbing beside her two dead and mutilated parents, blood spread all over the room.

"My...My Parents.." The woman sobbed out as she looked up at the Batman, tears in her eyes but she sent a panic into Bruce's soul, a bloody smile on her lips, going into a Glasgow smile up to her cheeks, which reminded him very well of someone he didn't want to remember. "Your mouth..." Batman quietly said, as Hope gently felt her lips, trying to wipe off the dried blood with rather little success. The vigilante's heart ached, seeing her continuing to wildly cry the young woman holding onto the lifeless corpses of her parents, a similar image appeared in his mind of an eight year old Bruce Wayne, all alone in crime alley, viewing his parent's going lifeless.

"Come on." Batman gently said as the sound of his leather cape and boots squeaking sounded out, the man gently helping the woman up, "What is your name?" Hope continued to sob and nodded as she was supported up by Batman's arm, "Hope... Batman... I lost my parents. Why?"

Bruce shook his head quietly, the man under the cowl finding himself struggling with his own emotions. He was mulling it over in his own mind, thoughts such as why he had become Batman, what he promised to do, and how he wished to protect others from turning out like him. But he failed in his mission, like people with Hope still hurting.

"I am sorry." Batman said, with his cowl technology making his voice a baritone deeper, "Life happens for a reason." Hope growled as she gently walked out of the vigilante's supporting arms and viewed herself in her bedroom mirror, the shaken woman beginning to sob and weep more, "How can you say that...? My parent's died.. I have no family left! I'm all alone. I was only going to go to college to please my parents. What will I do now? My world is falling apart before my eyes..."

Bruce frowned, realizing many of the young woman's emotions were emotions he himself had felt. "Why do we fall, Hope? So that we can learn to pick ourselves back up. Your parents loved you very much, and will always be proud of what you choose to do with your life, but you're alive and that's a gift. Use your life to help others, don't end up like the person who caused this."

Hope continued to silently cry as she quietly nodded, "I... How can you be sure? I'm sure you grew up happily with both of your parents, you're a guy who saves people every night. I'm sure you've not had to deal with the loss of your parents in such a manner." Batman began to stifle himself, the woman curiously looking at him through her teary eyes.

Batman sighed, "I don't often divulge my life with anyone... But for your information Hope, I know what it's like. My parent's died to muggers when I was a child. My whole life has been dedicated to making sure people would never have to end up like me, like you."

Hope began to tear up more as surprisingly, she hugged the Batman. "Thank you, Batman..." Batman nodded, "Lets get you out of here. But first, questions." The young woman nodded, as Batman suddenly went from gentle and warm, to interrogator mode. In a stern voice, he looked at the dead couple on the floor. "Who would do this, do you have any idea who attacked you? And was their motive? Why did they leave you alive?"

The attractive blonde nodded as she covered her bloody mouth, "His name is Peter Parker... He went to my elementary, middle and high school... He was always this quiet nerdy kid. I um... I never treated him the best." Batman narrowed his eyes curious at how easy profiling this suspect was, "How did you treat him?"

Hope looked down in shame, as if she really felt bad. "I...I um.. I used him. I'd use him to do my homework, and would always act interested in him. But then I'd get with other guys, he never stopped caring about me.." Batman sighed as he nodded, "He murdered two other guys your age, did you know them?" Hope nodded and further explained, "He dressed... like an old fashioned mobster almost, and wore clown makeup on his face. He seemed manic, and crazy and couldn't stop laughing at the murders he had committed, I'd never seen him like this, he insisted on me calling him the Joker before he left... But his aunt recently died, and he was heavily abused as a child, always showing up with bruises." Batman perked up in shock hearing all of this but the police began to enter the apartment and he sighed having to cut the interview short.

"Don't give up Hope,err literally, you can get past this. Your parent's loved you. Request asylum under the GCPD, tell Commissioner Gordon I suggested this. With him being so close to you, we can't risk you and him in the same room or area again." Batman commanded as Hope nodded, the Dark Knight quickly jumping out of her bedroom window as he grappled to a rooftop and began to fly across the street onto the roof.

Batman frowned, quickly tapping his ear under the cowl, "Alfred, look up databases and public records on Peter Parker. I believe that's our suspected killer. He killed a young woman's parents, apparently he's gone berserk... And he's... We will talk about it when I return." Alfred was concerned at Bruce's frustrated pause during his talking but soon responded to Bruce, "Right away, I will have the bat computer looking up records on a Mr. Parker."

Batman nodded to himself as he shot his grapple hook out, as the Dark Knight disappeared into the night, figuring he'd patrol the streets for an hour more before returning home to see the records results. 'It can't be... can it?' Batman quietly thought to himself, 'Can this be a copycat of Arthur Fleck? It's the first I have ever heard of such a thing... But his physical description, madness, and he want's to be called the Joker... I need to find him before he can cause more harm to the public.'

It was midnight, as Arkham Asylum continued to run like a well oiled machine the outside lit up with many spotlights keeping the area well seen. Dozens of guards patrolled the prison yards, and perimeter walls, as orderlies and therapists worked all night and day helping some of the most insane people from around the United States.

A woman with long blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and a professional demeanor smiled as she sat down at a table in a small conference room for doctors or therapists to have discussions with prisoners, four guards in each corner of the room looking on to protect the woman from the dangerous criminal she was about to face.

She made her papers ready in a neat stack as she braced herself. Her name tag was on her doctor's lab coat with pride as she sighed and couldn't help but think a hundred thoughts. 'He's killed multiple counselors and doctors, he killed Murray Franklin, started a riot in the eighties...' She didn't know if she was ready to deal with a patient like this, he was the scariest prisoner in the building.

"Hahahahaha!" A gravely laugh was heard outside the door, as several guards escorted a chained man into the well lit all white room. He appeared rather old, his long hair which went down to his lower back a pure steel grey in color, as the insane look in his eyes translated onto his face. The man had many wrinkles, due to years of smoking as he pulled out a cigarette and smiled at a Hispanic guard in a corner, "Hey, will you light me, Lupita?"

The woman sighed and nodded as she pulled out her lighter and lit the mans cigarette as he winked at her, with no further hesitation he took a long and enjoyed drag of his lit stick. The woman smiled, "Hello, Arthur. My name is Dr. Harleen Quinzel, I'm here to perform a check up on your mental well being. How are you feeling at this moment?"

Arthur stared the young woman in her eyes and gave a cackle, "Life is good. Mmm so much murder going on outside of these walls. Tell me, how is Gotham? I miss that city so, It's where I was birthed you know." Harleen frowned as she looked at his files and shook her head, "No, it says here you were adopted by a miss Penny Fleck, you were really received from a couple outside of the city."

Arthur despite still smoking grew a scowl on his face, "Don't... mention that name. Ever. I just meant that I was birthed as my... true self in Gotham" Harleen nodded, with a neutral look on her face. "Promise, so everything is going well? How is your laugh? Giving you much trouble recently?" Arthur shook his head, "The staff here doesn't get it. This laugh is who I am, I stopped being so depressed when I stopped giving a shit on what the people in society had to say. I don't need your help."

Harleen shook her head, "We are just trying to give you the best resources possible to help-..." Arthur cut her off with a sharp gravely cackle as the old man who sounded like he had been chain-smoking for 50 years shook his head with a few more coughs. "No you're not. Arkham is ran by corrupt people, and a stick in the mud warden who do little to help us, and care more for profit like the rich fat cats do. You'd be helping me by setting me free."

Harleen frowned, "I'm afraid that's not an option." Arthur shrugged then stood up, "Well, guess that means I'll be off to my cell. Call me in when you actually have something of use to say." A guard began to escort Arthur back to his maximum security cell, as Harleen frowned and rubbed her head, "I was not prepared ugh.." She continued to write in her notes about the old man's condition, which since his health and opinions in his youth to now had never changed much despite all of the resources Arkham had poured into his health and mental care, was looking like it was pointless to try to rehabilitate him any further.

Arthur sat in his cell and smoked with a joyful look on his face as he flipped on the old television the prison allowed him to have. The old man took a long drag of his cigarette as he watched a local Gotham news program with peaked interest. "And this just in, a string of murders tonight has finally found a name for the suspect. An eighteen year old by the name of Peter Parker is wanted tonight for the murder of at least four confirmed dead found, and for assault on a young woman by the name of Hope Stacey."

The news program switched from their anchor view to a video of Hope talking to a field reporter, with the blood of her parents all over her clothing, her own blood forming a Glasgow smile very noticeable on her cheeks and lips as she was in tears and talking, "He wore a colorful mobster suit, and wore clown makeup on his face... He stabbed my parents to death in front of me, and told me he'd bring joy and laughter to the whole world.. He told me he renamed himself to the Joker and insisted I called him that."

Arthur took a rather long drag of his cigarette, as after half a minute he blew out a massive cloud of smoke. The man was silent as he stared at the television with a look of joy and happiness he hadn't had since he was a younger man. "Bahahahahahahaahahahahahahaha!" The aged man began to bellow over in a cackling laughter, "Hahahahahah ahahahahaha!" Several guards could see what he was watched from the video surveillance and were beginning to get worried, but let him continue his laughter as after a good five minutes of cackling and coughing the old man settled down back into his chair and gave a relaxed sigh.

"Even now, I Inspire youth to make the world smile, perhaps Batman and the Joker will fight, my two legacies..." The locked up serial killer said with an arrogant cackle as he finished his cigarette and sighed, "I hope to meet this Joker someday. No one's ever played me before, hahahaha!" Arthur soon hobbled to his bed, and fell asleep, the old man enjoying the sleep he could get. The man was sentenced to life and had felt he was often forgotten about in society, but it eased him to know he still promoted smiles, and really had no idea of the kind of visitor he would be getting soon.


End file.
